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Back in August 2016, my short play Starfish was performed at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. I am now pleased to say that a full recording of that performance is available to watch on YouTube. (English subtitles can be turned on by clicking the button in the bottom right corner of the video.)

After a Christmas party that Kaitlyn would prefer to forget; her girlfriend, Nicola, takes her to the beach to try and get her head back together. However, Kaitlyn discovers that Nicola may have other reasons to keep her from breaking down.

Here’s something to celebrate the new year. I made this game last year as a way of teaching myself how to use Renpy, a free visual novel making program. All of the sound and images were also created by me, or sourced from the public domain. I would really like to do more with video games in the future and, hopefully, tell some more coherent stories. This one is a bit disjointed and experimental but I think I managed to find something unique in it.

You can download the game for free on Window, Mac and Linux on itch.io by following the link below.

When I’m not writing, I also work as a stage manager in the West End. I’ve decided to add the larger productions I’m working on to this blog. This December I’m working as the DSM on a production of The Winter’s Tale at City Lit in Holborn.

Poster for The Winter’s Tale

Directed by Petina Hapgood, this production features an impressive cast of 19 actors and will be performed on 6th – 9th December in City Lit’s John Lyon’s Theatre. Preview below.

On the 20th – 24th October, actor and charity activist Donald Waugh will host a unique and varied exhibition titled I’MPOSSIBLE. Working with people who have been through homelessness, mental health issues and substance abuse, and disabilities through his company Pavement 2 Catwalk, Donald has created a show which will include live performances, filmed documentaries and physical art. As well as stage managing the event, the exihibtion will feature 2 short documentaries made by myself and Abbigayle Bircham about different projects that Donald has organised over the last couple of months.

From the event page:

‘I’MPOSSIBLE’ directed by Donald Waugh also known for his starring role in Bugsy Malone, Grange Hill and Cats.

A thought provoking exploration of Donald’s Journey from Alcohol Abuse to Homelessness to Utter Madness and then spiralling into total chaos.

Through divine intervention and a spiritual awakening Donald was given a second chance, a gift of gratitude and compassion to see the world through new eyes. Whilst homeless and on the streets Donald began to see the talent and value of those who were disadvantaged. Donald spent 3 months working with survivors of homelessness, mental health, addiction and disability clients.

On the 25th of October, my short play Computer Play Play will be getting a read through as part of Drift Theatre‘s scratch night DriftShop.

An amateur drama group is given the opportunity to test a computer that can write plays, despite he protests of some of the groups more technophobic members and the computer’s strange sources of inspiration

After a very successful show at the Lyric Hammersmith, Starfish has been chosen to be performed again at The Courtyard Theatre, Hackney as part of a new performance of short plays called ‘Scribbles.’ The show will last for three days from the 18th to the 20th of August and will consist of Starfish and 4 other brilliant plays also from the Lyric show.

“After a Christmas party that Kaitlyn would prefer to forget; her girlfriend, Nicola, takes her to the beach to try and get her head back together. However, Kaitlyn discovers that Nicola may have other reasons to keep Kaitlyn from breaking down.”

Thank you to everyone who supported me at the last show. It was a brilliant evening! You can find a link to pictures from the last performance of Starfish below; as well as where you can buy tickets for Scribbles.

As part of City Lit’s annual Page to Stage program, my short play Starfish has been selected to be performed on the 13th of August 2016. Over the last couple of weeks I have been busy workshopping and rehearsing my play with a brilliant cast and director who I am confident will put on a great performance.

“After a Christmas party that Kaitlyn would prefer to forget; her girlfriend, Nicola, takes her to the beach to try and get her head back together. However, Kaitlyn discovers that Nicola may have other reasons to keep Kaitlyn from breaking down.”

Back in 2006, my Auntie Rene asked me to film her garden for her. She was always very proud of it and spent a lot of time keeping it beautiful. I wasn’t very very good at working a camera at the time, but she didn’t seem to mind.

In 2014, she passed away and as a result, there was no-one to take care of her garden. Although my family tried as best we could to take care of it, it became much more overgrown and a shadow of its former beauty.

Last week, in October 2015, we sold the house. And as I stood in the garden one last time, I remembered that old footage I had taken. So I filmed as many of the shots as I could remember and when I found the old footage and spliced it together with the footage I had taken. This was the result.

I made Week around this time last year, but didn’t feel it was worth sharing until now. At the time, I wanted to document all of the different things that I stared at during the week; all of the things that I was looking at but wasn’t processing. So I picked up my old handheld camera and carried it around with me throughout the week. (Which is why a lot of the footage is extremely shaky.)